Wayne Moss, a session musician based in Nashville who collaborated with some of rock’s most prominent acts, has passed away at the age of 88.

“Wayne was a musical torchbearer and a creative pathfinder who left his own resounding stamp on music history,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement confirming the news.

Born in 1938 in South Charleston, West Virginia, Moss spent his teenage years performing in local bands before making the significant move to Nashville in 1959. He quickly formed connections that led to session work with artists like Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Joan Baez, and many others. Eventually, Moss helped establish two bands of fellow Nashville session musicians, Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry.

What Did Wayne Moss Play On?

Moss contributed to numerous highly successful recordings throughout the ’60s and ’70s, including Roy Orbison’s hit song “Oh, Pretty Woman,” Bob Dylan’s 1966 album Blonde on Blonde, and Dolly Parton’s iconic “Jolene.”

Other notable artists Moss collaborated with include Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Kris Kristofferson, Mike Nesmith, Carl Perkins, and Nancy Sinatra.

Listen to Wayne Moss’ Guitar on Bob Dylan’s ‘I Want You’

Moss also founded one of Nashville’s oldest independent recording studios, Cinderella Sound. Over the years, it hosted renowned artists such as Jackie DeShannon, the Steve Miller Band, Linda Ronstadt, Grand Funk Railroad, James Gang, and many more.

“We’re not even in the phone book, you know?” Moss explained to Sound on Sound in 2011. “So unless you know somebody that knows somebody, you can’t even get in here. But Steve Miller did and Ronstadt did and Leo Kottke did and a lot of folks. So we’ve had the business despite the fact that you can’t even find us. You can’t Google us or anything else; therefore there’s not a Gray Line bus tour coming through here every day saying ‘Is that Johnny Cash in here? I wanna get his autograph.’ That drives artists crazy.

“And Steve Miller didn’t want anybody in the studio that wasn’t hired to play on it, and that’s what he got. He wanted to engineer his own vocals? Fine, go ahead. You know? So we try to bend in whatever direction the artist wants and we’ve had a lot of people in here over the years.”

“My dear friend, the great guitarist Wayne Moss has died,” Roy Orbison Jr. wrote on social media following the news of Moss’ passing. He described Moss as “my Dad’s good friend” and shared a photo. “We love you Wayne.”